


Pretty Amazing Miracle

by Ryzi



Category: Borderlands, borderlands 2 - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Prequel, Romance, Skags, Violence, pam - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-25
Updated: 2014-03-25
Packaged: 2018-01-16 23:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1366042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryzi/pseuds/Ryzi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She always knew there was more behind that mask. He just wanted to feel wanted.<br/>Everyone else just thinks they're crazy.</p>
<p>A Mish-Mosh of Ideas that tried to make a coherent story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pretty Amazing Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys. I'm new here.  
> So what you have here is an old-ish fic that I did at the beginning of the year.  
> But there is a second, so hold your horses.  
> The only reason I'm putting this up is because the second "book"  
> refers back to here.   
> BUT. I hope you all enjoy!

Krieg wandered aimlessly around Three Horns Valley, tossing his Buzz Axe up and catching it, keeping his "Psycho" side occupied wit the mundane task as his "sane" narrated a plan.

" _Alright. Are you listening? This is important._ " The calm yet stern inner voice spoke.

"I CAN FEEL THE PAIN. BE THE PAIN." Krieg's outer voice declared into the air.

" _Right. Anyways. We need to show her. Tell her. How much she means to us. How she can help us._ " 

"GOTTA THINK BIG...BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG." 

" _...uh...y'know what the hell. Go big._ " The inner Krieg slightly chuckled. 

The psychotic vault hunter ceased his game of catch and ran off the beaten path towards a group of Skag dens. Krieg smiled under his mask, already feeling his blood boil from the impending carnage he was about to cause. An Alpha Skag snorted and growled, alerting the rest of the pack to the intruder. Suddenly hordes of the beast crawled from out of the dens, each one snarling wildly, sending out a warning to get the hulking man to turn away. But Kreig ignored the warning growls and paced faster, breaking out into a full on sprint towards the Alpha, his Buzz Axe raised high above his head.

" _I hope you have an idea as to what you're doing._ "

"AHAHAH COME TO ME WRATH SPONGE!"

The pack of Skags charged forth at the vault hunter, their jaws snapping angrily. Kreig's smile only grew as he brought the axe down on the Alpha Skag, splitting it's skull in two with a magnificent spray of crimson. With another swing he took out two more, splattering more red around like an abstract painting. 

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ! CHOP CHOP!" He laughed maniacally, mowing down the number of beasts, leaving behind a path of corpses and blood.

" _Well. That wasn't so bad. What the hell were you even trying to do?"_

Kreig ignored his inner voice and slowed his pace as he walked up to a den. With a jump he hoisted himself over the small cave and saw what he had been looking for. In front of him was a small patch of wildflowers swaying in the breeze.

" _Huh. Flowers eh? Guess we aren't so hopeless after all."_

With the utmost delicacy that he could muster, the Psycho knelt down and began to pluck the flowers one by one.

"Petals for the pretty." Kreig said at a normal tone, for once not screaming into the air. This surprised the inner voice, was there still hope of being slightly more civil? Or at least understandable?

After harvesting about two dozen flowers, Krieg hopped from the dens and scanned the ground. With his bare hand, he tore the head off the Alpha Skag and set the flowers in its jaws.

" _...Really, you could have just--_ "

"Alpha for the Amazing." There it was again, that careful tone.

The giant vault hunter tucked the macabre bouquet under his arm and dashed towards the nearest Fast Travel station.

On his way a small caravan of bandits were taking turns punching the living shit out of each other over something. Kreig ran a few steps closer and stopped, stretching his neck trying to see what the brawl was about. 

" _Huh. Must be good if those idiots are trying to kill each other ov--_ "

"WHO ORDERED THE LEAD SALAAAAD?!" Krieg cried, unleashing a spray of bullets on the bandits, killing them in a matter of seconds. He jogged up to the cluster of corpses to find what had started the fight. An E-Tech gun. An E-Tech gun that did fire damage. Kreig bent over and picked up the gun then proceeded to shove the barrel through the back of the Skag's skull and through the mouth as if to finish off the gruesome arrangement.

The inner voice just sighed loudly, " _I guess it *is* the thought that counts_..."

"Matchstick...for...the...miracle." 

" _Yeah. The Pretty Amazing Miracle._ "

For once the two sides were on the same wavelength. 

" _Now come on, we gotta give this to her._ "

And with that, Kreig sprinted off, the Fast Travel station coming into view. As soon as he was on the platform he punched in the code for sanctuary and was warped to the city in the sky. 

When his body finally re-materialized, Krieg noticed another figure next to him in the station.

Maya.

" _Go on. Give her the bouquet. Show her that we appreciate her not brushing us off._ " The inner voice urged.

Krieg just stood there, dumbfounded, the morbid bouquet in his hands.

" _Come on...just...give her the flowers...then we can go off again."_

"Oh. Uh. Hey there Krieg." The Siren shuffled, preparing herself for a spew of profanities.

"Hands...out" He grumbled, his crazed side trying to stay suppressed.

Maya raised a brow but held out her hands. Kreig gingerly placed the Skag bouquet in her small hands then quickly balled his own hands into fists.

The Siren wasn't sure what to make of this...thing. Flowers, a Skag head, and an...E-Tech gun?

"Holy shit...is this for me?" She asked.

" _Nod...c'mon...so far so good..._ "

The Psycho slowly nodded and backed away. Maya drew the gun and inspected it then looked up at Krieg and smiled softly. She always had a feeling there was more than just a crazed, hulking, psychopath behind that mask. After placing her new gun in the holster on her back, Maya pulled out a single flower from the bouquet and motioned Krieg to lower to her level.

" _Alright, she want's to thank us. Just...We can do it._ " 

Much to the inner voice's surprise, Krieg was able to approach the Siren and kneel slightly. Maya's smile grew as she tucked a wildflower behind the Psycho's ear and patted his shoulder.

"Thank you." She grinned.

Krieg couldn't take much longer, he punched in a random code in the Fast Travel station and transported himself right back into Three Horns Valley where he went out on a long slaughter spree as he yelled and howled, "PRETTY AMAZING MIRACLE APPROVED!"

" _Yeah...approved. Good job."_  



	2. The Proof is in the Psycho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh right. Before I forget. I royally screwed up with the canon time line.  
> You'll see how in the next few chapters.

Maya sat alone at Moxxi's Bar, drumming her fingers on the wooden island. It had be bothering her since yesterday when Krieg presented her with a gory bouquet consisting of flowers in a Skag head with an E-Tech gun in the center. She didn't feel right not returning the favour, but what does one give to a partial Psycho. It was apparent that he had more going on in his head than just murder and riding meat bicycles.

"What's the matter darling?" Moxxi asked with a slight sigh as she approached the Siren.

"Just...Confused." The blue-haired female muttered, obviously lost in thought.

"About? C'mon tell me what's on your mind."

"Alright. So...what kind of-"

"MAYA! AH! JUST THE GIRL I WAS LOOKING FOR!" Tannis interrupted, strutting into the bar," I need a favor of you of the most urgent importance!"

"More important than killing that Terramorphus thing?" Maya deadpanned, not in the mood for running out on a quest.

"Well...not exactly...but please. Just...hear me out." The scientist pleaded.

"Fine. Go on."

"Well Mordecai's beastly flea-infested bird decided that some of my research papers would make great nesting material and stole one of my folders! I absolutely _have_ to get it back! Please help me?"

"...Why couldn't you have asked Mordecai?" Moxxi asked in stead of Maya who was facepalming, wondering the same thing.

"Well...he's out doing whatever he does when he's not drinking, which is probably drinking out somewhere else, and Bloodwing Jr. is up in that wretched nest most likely ruining my papers more! I need you to do it because you can use your Phase Lock ability to get them back one way or another..."

"Fine...Fine..." Maya agreed with a sigh, "Where's the nest?"

"Up on top of the Raiders' building. Not too hard to reach."

With that the Siren trudged out of her seat and to the Raiders' HQ. Climbing up to the roof she could already hear Bloodwing Jr. softly cawing and cooing contently before snapping her head over at Maya and let out a soft raspy hiss. The bird raised her wings up and out in warning, trying to scare off the Siren.

"Calm down there...I'm not gonna hurt you..." Maya said in a calm voice.

Bloodwing Jr. only shrieked loudly before launching into the air. Seizing the chance, Maya dashed towards the nest and grabbed the folder that was luckily still in tact before Phase Locking the irritated bird, allowing her to escape without fear of being pecked to death.

Maya threw the folder onto the bar counter, "Here's your file."

"Thank you. Honestly that feathery pest just bothers me and ugh!" Tannis groaned.

Maya sat back down at the bar and slumped over, the question of how to repay Krieg still plaguing her mind.

"Alright. So what was bothering you before?" Moxxi asked once more, resuming the previous conversation.

"Well yesterday I got a bouquet with a gun-"

"From?" Both Moxxi and Tannis interrupted.

"Does it ma-"

"YES" Once again both women responded.

Maya shrunk back slightly in her seat, "Kreig."

"Interesting...perhaps small-minded bandits really can feel things other than hate and aggression." Tannis pondered aloud.

Something inside the Siren snapped, she wasn't sure what, but a boiling anger rose from her stomach. Maya gritted her teeth and dug her nails into the already ripped pleather of the stool and tore it more.

"He's not small minded." She nearly growled, "There's more than that..."

At that moment the Psycho in question was about to round the corner into the bar when, " _Stop. I hear them talking about us._ " The outer Krieg nearly grunted but was able to stop. The sound of angry footfalls became louder as a figure approached the exit.

"There's something more okay? How else would he have the coherency to give me those flowers?" Venom filled Maya's tone.

She walked out, trying to cool down, " _What the hell?_ " She thought, baffled by her sudden outrage. Sure, she would have taken offense if they had insulted any of her other team mates, but this was beyond insulting; it was down right degrading.

"Thank...you..." Krieg mustered out, his voice strained between a yell and a growl, "FOR HOLDING BACK THE-"

"HOLY HELL!" Maya shrieked, Phase Locking the Psycho out of instinct.

" _...way to go. You sc-_ "

"I SEE THE WRONG. SHUT UP!"

The Siren cancelled the Phase Lock, letting Krieg down.

"Sorry about that. You just scared the hell out of me."

"WRITE THE DOOM! BRING IT!" The Psycho blurted out.

Maya shuffled back a few steps, hoping that Krieg wouldn't go into some random berserk rage.

" _Damn it. Stop that._ "

"Uh...yeah." The blue-haired female muttered.

" _Come on. We have to redeem ourselves._ "

Hesitantly, Krieg held out his hand and placed it on the Siren's head and ruffled her hair, trying to show he was sorry.

From the open frame that lead into the bar, Tannis observed the interaction between the Psycho and the Siren. A smirk across her lip as she wrote down her newest finding.


	3. Bomb Squad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeee chapter 3  
> Im on a post spam to get this all up before I leeeaaaave.

"Yo shawty. I need ya help." Tiny Tina's voice called over Brick's ECHO communicator.  
  
"Sure thing, what'cha need?" The Berserker slightly chuckled back.  
  
"Wellll y'see. Madam Laquan-shaquisha's birthday is comin' up, and I tolds her that we'd have a sickass party for her. Well that dame tolds me that she wouldn't be goin' nowhere if those bandits are around. Now, normally I'd take care of it myself, I gots friends ta help with that, but seems like its some bandit family reunion and theres TONS out there. Can ya grab a few of ya homies and come by here ta help?"  
  
Brick laughed louder, excited for the impending chaos, "Sure thing Tina."  
  
"Shawty. You da best." The transmission ended.  
  
Salvador sat in the back of Moxxi's, arm wrestling a citizen who challenged his position as "The Supreme Arm Wrestling Macho King".   
The Gunzerker smirked as he forced his fist down against his opponents, twisting his arm back in an unatural angle.  
  
"MERCY! MERCY! DAMN IT STOP!" The citizen cried as he heard his bones snap, but Salvador just kept twisting, now laughing widly.  
  
"FINE FINE I GIVE UP! YOU WIN!" Salvador let go, his oppnent ran out crying and holding his broken appendage.  
  
"Damn." Brick chuckled, you showed him.  
  
The dwarf smirked and cracked his knuckles and leanded back in his booth, satsified.  
  
"Served him right."   
  
"Anyways. Tiny Tina needs help. We're gonna blow shit up."  
  
"Count me in. I have a launcher that needs breakin' in."  
  
The two Beserker-class men strolled towards the station after stocking up on explosives, noticing a certain Psycho rummaging through some boxes around the building. Salvador's eyes lit up, knowing how much his crazed team mate had a thirst for carnage. He nudged the wall of muscle and scurried up to the other vault hunter then lightly punched his arm.

"Hey amigo!" The dwarf greeted as Krieg spun around.

" _He's on our side remember? Innocent. Don't do anything_." The conscious side grunted in both agreement to his inner voice and in greeting to the Gunzerker.

"We were just on our way to blow some shit up, wanna come?"

Krieg looked down at the shorter man then up and raised his Buzz Axe in the air screaming, "I'M READY FOR THE FEAST! MAKE IT RAIN BLOOD!"

Salvador threw up a fist as well and laughed, "HELL YEAH AMIGO! VAMANOS!" Motioning everyone to follow his lead before Fast Traveling to Tina's.

"Alright everyone." The thirteen-year-old demolitionist said lowly, pacing back and forth like a sergeant to his troops, "We have a mission of the utmost importance! Madam Laquan-shaquisha's birthday is coming up, and it seems like there's some sort of bandit reunion goin' on and we cannot have those lame-o's ruining it! So we're gonna teach them a lesson!" Tina ran over to a large chest and opened it, revealing what looked like an unlimited supply of grenades.

The three vault hunters stirred, excited for the events to take place.

\--

At about the same time the three explosion-happy vault hunters left, Maya, Axton, and Zero were summoned by Sir Hammerlock.

"Good day vault hunters!" The gentleman saluted, "How would you like to make a terrific contribution to uncovering the mysteries of Pandora?"

The three in question looked at Hammerlock in suspense, eager to hear the proposal.

"Out in Tundra Express, an unusually large flock of Rakks have been spotted nesting in the area, I would like you to go out and take some samples of the area. I would do it myself, but my editor _insists_ I revise some of my entries or it won't go into print." He grumbled and trailed off, the vault hunters had already lost interest at the words "flock of Rakks" and were now just standing idly waiting for the Brit to finish speaking.

Noticing the disinterest in his errand runners, Hammerlock decided to make it worth while.

"If you fulfill my request, I'll provide each one of you with a new gun and shield." 

That got the three back on board.

"New gun _and_ shield? Hell, count me in!" Axton proclaimed, Zero and Maya nodded in agreement before heading out to Tundra Express.

\--

"Awww man. Aw man aw man!" Tina bounced in excitement, climbing up onto Brick's shoulders, slinging a bag of grenades over her shoulder.  
 The others followed sooth, packing up as many explosives as they could carry.

"Allllright! Super swagalicious bomb squaaaaad~ MOVE OUT!" The pre-teen ordered, throwing her weight forward.

"MAKE IT RAIN BLOOD!" Krieg cackled, sprinting out first, grenades in hand with the others in tow.

Upon exiting the cave, it was obvious by what Tina meant by a "bandit family reunion". There were swarms of them, from Nomads, to Midgets, to Marauders, and even Rats. All of them parading around and getting into their own "social skirmishes" to show who was the best of the best.

Salvador laughed maniacally as he loaded up his launcher, firing rockets into the masses, watching the bodies soar up into the air in an explosion of gore. He then proceeded to hurl grenade after grenade at the remaining bandits, thoroughly enjoying his work. Brick tightened his nail-studded gloves and punched his way through the sea of psychos as Tiny Tina hurled her favorite high-powered-remote-detonated bombs into the doorways of the new fortress. 

"Man does this bring back memories." Brick said as he punched the head clean off a Nomad.

"Less talky! More blowy-uppy!" Tina ordered, tossing a grenade.

" _Time to let loose_ " The subconscious Krieg said with an invisible smile.

"HERE COMES THE STORM CLOUD!" The outter Psycho declared, "BOOM GOES THE THUNDER!" He threw a grenade, "DOWN COMES THE RAIIIIN!" His Buzz Axe sliced clean through the stomachs of three Rats, spraying organs and blood everywhere.

\--

"UGH. I regret taking on this job." Axton groaned, resorting to tinkering with his Turret box to try and pass the time faster. The three sat a few hundred feet away from a field full of Rakks that were pacing around the area. They had been in the same spot for the past two hours, watching the feathered beasts waddle around and caw.

"I have returned back/ the samples are all with me/ we can return now." Zero said in his usual haiku-like speech.

"Great. The sooner we get back the b--"

KA-BOOOOOOOoooom

A large mushroom cloud followed by a mini earth tremor startled everyone and sent the Rakks off in a frenzy. Axton pulled out a pistol and shot down a Rakk for shits and giggles. Maya shot him a death glare which the Commando just shrugged off.

"It was only one, doesn't matter."

"We should check it out/ with extra information/get a better prize." The Assassin commented.

"For once something exciting!" Axton grinned, dashing off toward the source of the explosion.

\--

"Do you think we should stop--"

"Nah amigo." Salvador interrupted Brick, "He's too loco to stop. Give him un memento."

"DAYYYYUM, THAT SHAWTY GOT MAD SKIIIIILLLLLL" Tina smiled, hopping off the Berserker's shoulders.

A group of Buzzard helicopters flew in overhead, the sound of more bandits approaching sent the others into another raid. 

"TURRET OUT!" With a flash of blue light, a large turret gun digi-structed and began shooting down the Buzzards.

  
"STAY PUT!" A Phase Lock orb captured one of the aircraft's.

"Your eyes deceive you/ I am hidden from sight/ now you will fall dead." A holo-Zero feigned attack while the real one stealthed to skewer two Marauders.

"HAHA WHAT UP MY BEEEETCHES?!" The thirteen-year-old laughed, throwing more grenades at the new wave of bandits.

While the chaos around him was anything but silent, inside him was, Krieg was now fully taken over by his psychotic side, no longer able to comprehend his surroundings. Everything that moved was an enemy. The Psycho sliced his way through, drenched in crimson. The slight ringing in his ears was the screaming of his victims. Suddenly the wave of bandits around him seemed to drown him, overwhelming him as he felt hands and arms restraining him.

"KRIEG! KRIEG STOP!" Maya pleaded.

"AMIGO NO! ITS OVER!" Salvador tightened his grip on the Psycho.

All the vault hunters did everything they could to subdue the crazed man. The battle had ended minutes before, but Krieg was still on a rampage and ended up punching Axton square in the face when the Commando tried to stop his frenzy, knocking him out cold. They Psycho broke free and turned on the other Vault hunters. Brick swung his fist at the hand Krieg was wielding his Buzz Axe, knocking it from his grasp, but Krieg retaliated by kicking the Berserker in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. Salvador drew two pistols and attempted to at least get his companion to move back by firing at his feet, but that didn't stop him as he picked up the dwarf and hurled him at a near by rock wall. 

Tina had run off to contact Roland, hastily informing him on the situation. 

"We're coming now." The leader of the Raider's replied, a very slight tone of panic in his voice.

Zero set up a decoy hologram for the Psycho to chase as he hopped up onto the hulking man's back, trying to subdue him through suffocation. But to no avail as Krieg charged backwards into the rock wall, knocking off the Assassin.

"I don't wanna have to...but..." Maya brought up her hand and suspended her friend in the air, hoping to prevent any further damage. 

"HAHAHA SPILL THE BLOOD. SALT THE WOUNDS! NO MORE NO MORE!"

The Siren felt her abilities beginning to drain her energy, she couldn't keep it up much longer.

"MAYA! ROLAND'S ON HIS WAY!" Tina yelled, "JUST HOLD ON!"

Maya fell to her knees, her fingers began to twitch as the light from her tattoos faded, the Phase orb faltering, before passing out from exhaustion.

" _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"_ The inner voice screamed, " _WE PROMISED TO NEVER HARM THE INNOCENT, IT'S ENDING. NOW._ "

"NO! NEVER! MY BLOOD WILL NOT SPILL!" 

" _TOO. BAD. WE FUCKED UP. THERE'S NO HOPE NOW._ " The subconscious Krieg forcefully took hold of his outer counterpart's motor skills, shakily walking up to the discarded Buzz Axe, spinning the blade to a full rev then held it out in front of his neck.

" _We had fun. Thank you._ "

"OH HELL NO!" Lilith's voice cried.

A blast of purple energy sent the Psycho flying backwards with insane speed. The whole world went black before Krieg's eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rate  
> Review  
> Comment  
> Do what you like.  
> Love yeh all  
> -Ryzi


	4. The Silent Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Progression Chapters!

"Alright Raiders...what are we going to do?" Roland asked, taking a seat at the projection table in the middle of the room. He scanned the condition of the other vault hunters. While no one had taken severe damage from Krieg's rampage, they were rather shaken up. 

After the events in Tundra Express, Roland and Lilith were able to apprehend the Psycho and keep him unconscious while helping the others get back to Sanctuary and to "proper" medical care.

"I know he's a part of the team amigos, and his rampage _was_ pretty awesome...but I think he's gotta go." Salvador mentioned, stretching out his aching back.

"I agree." Axton concurred, "Even if it was just once, we can't have someone go AWOL like that."

Everyone else seemed to hop on the same boat, everyone except Maya. Once again her emotions seemed to flare up with a deep burning in her stomach telling her that this was wrong. Before she could plan a rebuttal, her actions spoke. Bringing a fist down on the table and making a small crack in the screen. The others looked at her with shock, Maya was never one to be overly impulsive. 

"Sorry...I just, I don't think we should get rid of him. It was one time."

 

Everyone looked at the Siren like she had Thrashers coming out of her back.

"Maya, he tried to kill us!" Brick yelled, standing up.

"If he really wanted to, he could have! You've seen how he can slice through a full Badass Raging Goliath with one swing! He was holding back!" Maya nearly cried, almost losing her composure as she gritted her teeth.

"He tried to kill himself," Lilith added, at least trying to give her Siren friend a fighting chance at a debate, "before I knocked him out, Krieg had his axe at his throat."

The blue-haired Siren looked over at the Firehawk, hope sparking in her light gold eyes.

"Exactly! If he was totally gone, he wouldn't regret it." 

There was a collective sigh, it was obvious that Maya was not going to take "no" for an answer. The leader of the Raiders' hung his head after receiving a death glare from Lilith telling him not to say anything. 

"Fine. If you can prove that Krieg isn't completely crazy--"

Maya dashed out of the room, down the stairs, to Tannis who was working on her newest project.

"--I'll consider...ugh." 

"Man sometimes I think since he showed up shes gotten crazier." Mordecai chuckled, leaning back in his chair, gulping down some liquor.

\--

"TANNIS!" The scientist jumped at the sudden noise, "Do you have any spare ECHO logs?"

"What for Maya?" Tannis asked, not looking up from her work.

"I need to prove Krieg's innocence!"

"How is he innocent?" She slid an ECHO under the desk and flipped it on to record, "I mean, he tried to kill you all."

"That's where you're wrong. If he wanted to he would have! Look, I just need one..." Maya pleaded.

Tannis smirked and tossed the Siren a spare recorder, turning off the hidden ECHO and stored it for later reference.

"Let me come too, I just want to observe him." Determination behind her irises.

Maya nodded and walked out, heading to the large lot in front of Scooter's Garage.

\--

What lie before her nearly broke the Siren's heart. A large steel cage was bolted into the ground where the Psycho lie, chained up like some animal still knocked out. Cautiously Maya approached the cage and sat in front of its bars and sighed. Tannis stood a few feet back with her own ECHO in hand and brought it up to her mouth.

"There is an obvious mutual attachment these two share." She muttered into the device.

Within the steel prison Krieg twitched, as if experiencing a nightmare.

"All our fault. We promised to never harm an innocent." Krieg whispered in a voice caught between his own and the one in his head. Maya looked up and gasped. After fumbling with her ECHO to get it to record, she scrambled to the side of the cage where the sleeping man was closest.

"They trusted us...we failed...but could not...finish." His voice was a mix of regret, anger, and hatred that came out in breathy gasps. The experiment's chest heaved frantically as his hands instinctively twitched around in panic.

"Friends...we had friends...we ruin--AUGHGH WHY WHY WHY?!" The Psycho began to convulse wildly, Maya knew all to well what was going on. A dangerous phenomena known as "sleep paralysis" was torturing the man. He was not the only one to suffer such an experience, at some point in all their days, each vault hunter had bouts of the condition often after strenuous missions mixed with a lack of sleep. 

Without thinking, Maya slipped her hand between the bars and patted his rough palm, hoping to at least calm Krieg down a little.

"Got...Lo-lost...So sorry...we are...hopeless. End us here..." Was the last thing he said before his body became eerily still. Panic filled the Siren's eyes as she frantically scanned over the statue-like figure.

"He's just asleep. The terror must have worn him out. I must say, I never though of our hulking meat-loving bandit to be much of a somniloquist--a sleep talker." Tannis clarified, "Looks like there really _is_ more to him than meets the eyes."

Maya held out her ECHO to the insane(ly) smart woman, "Take this to Roland, tell him I was right. I'm just...gonna stay here a little longer."

Tannis happily took the recorder, spun around on her heel and left, leaving Maya alone in silence.

"Shit...why did..." She shook her head and cleared her thoughts, she really wasn't one to get overly involved with others. Out here on Pandora it was nearly "every being for themselves", and while she admitted she had grown exceptionally close to the other Crimson Raiders and considered them great friends, the extent to how heated she got when ever someone insulted her Psycho companion baffled her. With a long sigh, Maya leaned up against the cage and buried her face in her hands, not noticing the large hand lightly gripping the fabric of her pocket and the almost inaudible sigh of "Sorry pretty lady" and  "thank you, pretty lady".

\--

Tannis smirked slyly to herself, listening to the recordings and flipping through her files that contained all her information on Maya and Krieg.

"Tannis, what are you doing?" Roland asked, stopping at the scientist's table. She said nothing and merely held out an ECHO.

"Maya was right. That Psycho is a little more complex than we give credit for."

The commander took the recording and headed out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rate  
> Review  
> Comment?  
> Listen to the Hidden Orchestra on Pandora to get the full Borderlands effect  
> -Ryziiii


	5. Daisy Daisy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapter spam. Yes.

"Are you sure Roland?" Lilith asked, handing the man a can of food.

"Yeah. I know the recording showed some semblance of sanity...but, we can not risk another event like that. _Especially_ during a more high-risk mission." Roland sighed, filling up a large satchel with food, water, ammunition, and healing hypos.

"Dude, the last one involved fucking _bombs_. What's more high-risk than that?"

"You know what I mean Lil." His shoulders slumped as he closed the pack. The two headed out of the room, an uneasy sensation hanging over them. As they made their way towards Scooter's, the other vault hunters fell into step, already understanding the situation.

After a long night of debating and listening to Krieg's grumbling sanity over and over, it was finally declared that the Psycho be sent out to fend for himself, but not without some provisions. Maya of course continued to try and persuade the group into letting Krieg stay, but ended up exhausting herself after arguing for an hour straight.

" _Well...looks like our time is up. Judgement day._ " The inner voice sighed, expecting to be offed.

"COME TO ME! BURN ME AT THE STAKE! LET ME FEEL FIRE'S EMBRAAAAACE!" The outer voice cackled, tossing his chains around.

" _...God...damn...it_ "

The group of vault hunters looked puzzled at one another, a few shrugging.

"Calm down soldier." Roland said, approaching the cage. He unlocked the door, letting the Psycho walk out as far as the chain would let him, "We aren't setting you on fire any time soon."

" _Wait what? We attacked them why...what?"_

Krieg's shoulders slumped as if he was disappointed in not being set on fire. The leader of the Raiders held out the provisions.

" _Take it."_ The outer Krieg grabbed the satchel and peeked at its contents, " _Food? Ammo? They...want us to...live? Heh, what kind of backwards planet is this?_ "

"Sorry we can't have you around soldier. You were one of the best." The words felt lightly acidic as he spoke, "Now...come on." Roland grabbed the other end of the chain and began to head up to the station with the others surrounding Krieg.

The air seemed to grow heavier with tension, no one spoke a word, only glancing side to side at the citizens who too were silent.

Both Kriegs didn't understand, they had attacked nearly the entire team, they were incomprehensible, uncivil, hell half the time they were uncooperative, yet he was still allowed to live? The Psycho scratched his head and let out a heaving sigh. He tossed his head around like he was searching for some one. Some one with blue hair and matching blue tattoos. Maya was nowhere to be found. Krieg felt a twinge in his chest, it wracked through his muscles making his fingers twitch.

"Its been fun. Perhaps we'll run into each other again." Krieg snapped back into reality, only to hear calls of farewell as a blue light engulfed him and transported him from the flying city.

"I can't believe you all..." Maya growled lowly, dragging her feet into the station.

"Maya. He has supplies that can last him a week. He has instincts. We sent him to a place full of things to kill. He'll be fi-"

"YOU ACT LIKE HE'S SOME ANIMAL DAMN IT! HE'S A HUMAN TOO! JUST BECAU-"

"MAYA! IT WAS FOR THE BE-"

"SHUT UP!" The Siren's eyes and tattoos began to glow a deep indigo, small objects began to levitate around her.

"Maya...calm...calm down." Lilith said, taking a step forward.

"C'mon...You're gonna hurt someone..." Axton spoke up, ready to spring and tackle his team mate if need be. The others stood with their weight in their feet, prepared to act. The Siren stepped back, and in a lapse of thought, brought her hand up, lifting the Raiders off the ground in a large Phase orb. Her eyes widened as she witnessed what she had just done and canceled the over-powered Phase Lock, releasing her friends. Everyone looked in shock at Maya. Even the Siren herself looked at her hands in awe.

" _What...What's wrong with me?!_ " She screamed internally.

" _I don't blame them...I really don't._ " The internal Krieg sighed as his external counterpart balanced on the remains of a ruined Buzzard Aircraft out in the Arid Badlands. He plucked out small rotting chunks of flesh from his Buzz Axe and flicked them off into the distance. The warm, dry air sent specks of sand flying past him as he meticulously cleaned his blade.

" _Hey. Are you even listening_?"

"SHIVERS IN THE RIBS! FIRE IN THE SKIES!"

" _Back to square one..._ "

The Psycho hopped off his little wreckage throne, spotting a skag several yards away. The beast aimlessly paced about, its snout at the ground, sniffing the sand thoughtlessly. Krieg smiled sickly under his mask and slung his prized possession over his shoulder, strolling closer to the creature, taking in its every move, picturing how in a few moments its blood would be splattered all over the sand in a sludge of sienna. The skag lifted its head and faced the vault hunter, a growl emitting from his throat.

" _Deja vu._ " The inner voice chuckled bitterly.

Krieg ignored the voice and continued on his path, his own growl passing his lips. The skag ran off, sending the Psycho into a full on sprint as he chased his target. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, sinister laughs echoed through the air. The beast hopped over a hill, out of its predator's sight. The hulking maniac scaled the rocky terrain and smashed the skag under his boots, relishing in the blood-curdling howl and splatter of crimson that dyed his pants red.

He laughed and brought his victim's decapitated head up to his and smiled.

"Daaaiiiisy~ Daaaiiiiiisyyyyy~" He sung almost as if he were drunk. A few skags emerged from the nearby den along with several rakks flying overhead.

"Give ME your ANNNNSWER TOOO~" Kreig hurled the head at one of the skags, knocking it back and sending the other-along with the rest of the large pack-skags after him.

Rakks dive-bombed downwards, "IM SO crrrAAAAAZY~" He swung up, slicing one of the aerial beasts in half, "OVER THE LooooOOOOOVE of YOU! HAHAHA!" He stomped his weight down onto the attacking skags, spraying blood everywhere.

"IT WON'T BE A-" Kick, swing, two more creatures fell victim to the Psycho, "STYLISH MARRIAAAAGE~" Krieg grabbed a Rakk from the air and tore its wings off.

"I CANT afford a caaaarriage~" He spun around wildly, slicing down the pack in a glorious display of fur, organs, and blood.

Krieg paused, allowing all his enemies to gather around. He tossed his axe down and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bundle of dynamite.

"But you'll look sweet..." _Shwick!_ The fuse sparked to life, "upon the seat..." His breathing grew ragged, "OF A BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO!"

_Ka-boom._

Amongst the corpses of the dead beasts, lie Krieg, chuckling madly, burns littered his already calloused skin.

"Ahahah! Light the fuses bitches. LIGHT THE MOTHER...FUCKING...FUSES." He jumped to his feet and drew a healing hypo from his provision bag, stabbing the needle into his arm, watching the serum drain into his system and turn his burns into nothing but miniscule scars. Krieg bent over, taking his weapon from the sand, brushing it off and sliding it into a crude-looking holster at his side.

" _Well, now that we've had our fill._ " The inner voice seemed to yawn, " _I don't know what side you're on. But I think we should try and get back to them. After all. Out here on our own we won't be able to return to being some kind of 'normal'. We won't see *her* again. And we both want to see her._ "

"SLAUGHTER THE PASTRIES."

" _...Thanks for the input."_ He ended sarcastically.


	6. Downtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up. This is nothing but a progression chapter.  
> Remember those glaring things I ignored?  
> Yep, I cover those here.  
> Sorry for it not being super good.

"A what?" Maya asked, not sure if she heard right.  
  
"A little, girl's night. Y'know. You, me, Lilith, Tannis...just kind of. Kick back. After Salvador broke that one guy's arm, buisness has been a little slow. And with everything that's happened, I think we all deserve this." Moxxi said with a smile, washing out a few glasses.  
  
It was true though, in just the past few months the vault hunters had taken on Hyperion, slayed the Warrior, murdered Handsome Jack, lost Roland then got him back--which he insist remains a secret to only himself, gained two new hunters, nearly got killed by one of them, sent that one to exile, yeah, it was a lot to take in. The siren sighed as she ran the information through her head then rested her chin in her palm.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that would be nice." She smiled slightly.  
  
"Great! Go round up th--"  
  
"FUCK. EVERYTHING. I AM SO DONE!" A teenage voice raged with a loud metallic THUNK as her prosthetic arm fell to the floor. The two other women looked at the mechromancer quizzically.  
  
"What happened to you?" Maya asked, raising a brow.  
  
"Alright." Gaige huffed, taking a seat, "So I get this request right? Go out to the Highlands, take care of a few straggling bots, roll in the cash flo'...you get it. WEEEEELLL! Seems like Thrashers like metal compositions, because one minute I'm firing and takin' them on like the total badass I am, then the next one of those tentacle beasties have their little tendrils around my arm. AAAAaaaand POP! Off it goes, I'm screamin' like a midget psycho, trying to kill all these douche-canoes without DT with me. Luckily I got rid of them. But I couldn't just return home without no dough! Sooooo I kinda, popped my arm back into place, took out those Loaders, and boom, here I am." She raised her arm above her head, "Now if you'll excuuuse me, I have an arm to fix."  
  
"Wait Gaige," Moxxi chucked, "Seems like you need a night off too."  
  
The 16-year-old's eyes lit with excitement, "Hell to the yeeaaaaah! Like a girl's night?! Man I haven't gone to one in aaaaaaaaaages." A few mechanical parts fell from her shoulder, "Arm....right." And with that she dashed off, a little bit of a spring in her step.  
  
"Yep. We _definitely_ need this." Maya smiled wider, sliding off her seat.   
\--- --- --- --- ---  
" _Dirt...more dirt...what's that over there?_ " The Psycho whipped his head to his left," _More...dirt._ " The inner Krieg sighed. They had been wandering the Arid Badlands for days, the food and water now dangerously low thanks to the Psycho's ravenous eating habits. The outer Krieg let out an audible groan before falling into the sand face first. He waved his arms around in the grainy terrain, leaving grooves in the shape of some demented sand-angel. If there was anything these two could be in sync on, it was that they were exhausted, bored, and alone. The exile had most likely slaughtered every skag and rakk in the vicinity.   
  
" _I don't know about you...But we've gotta do something fast..._ "   
  
"SHRED THE SAND! BREAK THE SKY!"  
  
" _What?_ "The inner voice paused and metaphorically shook his head, trying to rid himself of that outburst," _Okay...well, first things first. Shelter. These last few days have been hell sleeping on sand._ "   
  
The psycho pushed himself off the sand and began to meander in no particular direction, occasionally plucking at the wraps around his wrists.  
  
" _We've done this before, remember? Before we met her._ "  
  
The outer Krieg looked around lazily, obviously beginning to lose his focus from exhaustion. On the horizon he saw the silhouette of a tattered flag fluttering in the breeze. His eyes narrowed, like a cat about to chase a toy. Krieg stopped in his tracks and slightly ran in place, a small excited smile emerging under his mask.  
  
" _Yeah, go chase that. Flags mean bases, bases mean shelter. Hell, we can probably steal whatever those bandits have._ "  
  
"AHAHAHAH! READY OR NOT! HERE I CooOOoooME~" The Psycho cackled, chasing that flag over the horizon.  
  
\--- --- --- --- ---  
"Ohhhh my god I needed this." Lilith sighed contently as she sprawled out on the couch in the back room of Moxxi's Bar.  
  
"No shit right?" Gaige chuckled as she made some finishing adjustments to her robotic limb.  
  
"I concur, besides, this could be helpful towards my research." Tannis mumbled the last part of her thought.  
  
Maya found herself a seat next to her fellow Siren and slumped over the arm of the couch, letting out a sigh and staring at the wall. The other four women looked at the blue-haired female worriedly. Gaige looked up at Lilith, as if to ask "The hell's up with her?", but Lilith only shrugged. Moxxi smiled smugly, knowing exactly what was going through the Siren's head, but then coughed loudly to break her smug expression and call the attention of the others.  
  
"Well, here's to all the chaos and madness that's gone through this past year!" She said cheerfully, the other gave small expressions of cheer.  
  
Lilith laughed, causing everyone to turn their heads at her.  
  
"What's so funny?" The scientist asked.  
  
"N-nothing, just...thinking about what the guys must be doing right now." The Firehawk confessed.  
  
Everyone raised a brow.   
  
"I told Roland I was headed here for some down time with you all, and one of the guys must have overheard me because not even two seconds later Salvador comes running up the steps and spouting off about how he and his 'Amigos' are gonna start some kind of 'Rakk Fighting Ring'. So just picture all of them sending Rakks after each other and taking bets."  
  
There was a silence before a loud laughter erupted amongst the women.  
  
"AHAH! I bet they threw some midgets into the mix!" Gaige cackled.  
  
Hours passed filled with unimportant gossip, chatter, and complaints about nothing in particular, but as the night became the early hours of the morning...  
  
"Soooo Maya, how're you doin' without your Psycho?" Moxxi asked with a smirk. The nearly-asleep Siren's eyes shot wide open and focused on the top hat-wearing woman.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" She yawned.  
  
"Like, are you thinking of just going out there and finding him? Or are you just going to move on?"   
  
Tannis pulled out a pen and paper, ready to jot down what Maya was about to say. The Siren's gaze grew distant, what was she going to do? Roland purposefully didn't tell her where they were sending Krieg, knowing she would most likely go after him. So going out with no knowledge was near suicide, but a constant tugging in her chest wouldn't let her forget about him.  
  
"A miracle. That's what." She muttered, clenching her fist.  
  
There was a collective "what" that broke the Siren's trance.  
  
"I mean, think about it. We took down Hyperion, slayed the Warrior, killed Handsome Jack, lost our leader then miraculously got him back, if this hasn't been a year of miracles or at least dumb luck, I don't know what is. A part of me wants to go out there and find him, but a larger part is just telling me to wait..." Maya declared, everyone else once again exchanged glances.  
\--- --- --- --- ---  
" _...Fyrestone...Not a bandit hideout, just Fyrestone..._ "   
  
Krieg tossed the remaining pieces of a JNK-Loader in a pile with the others he had just killed, grunting contently. The tattered flag he had chased was one from the ruins of Fyrestone. The Psycho had set himself up in a slightly-collapsed hut, but not without marking it to show it was his. He had taken some oil from a demolished Loader and crudely finger-painted out "KRiEgS" on the outer wall by the entrance, and an even more crude "PiS Off" under it.  
  
" _Classy..."_ The inner Krieg sighed. A dim blue light caught his attention, a power core. The exile carefully took the core that was rolling slowly past him. The faint blue glow was comforting for some reason, he brought the light source closer to his face, smiling at the inviting light.

"Pretty...Blue...." He grunted, "Blue...beauty."

The hulking man slumped to the ground and cautiously held the power core to his chest. Heat radiated from the cylinder, enveloping Krieg in a soothing warmth. For the first time since that incident, he didn't feel alone. His throat tightened and his head ached. This isolation was going to kill him.

"Need..." Kreig huffed in what sounded like a growl.

" _What? Woah there. Let's back it up._ "

"Prove...gotta....prove it to...them...her..." There was a silence inside of the Psycho's mind, one of shock and awe.

" _Yeah yeah! That's right. We gotta---_ "

"OUT OF MY HEAD! OUT OUT!" Krieg swatted his palm against his skull as if he was trying to shake excess water from his ear.

" _We're getting there. We can do this._ "

"SHOW THEM ALL THE DOOOOOOM!" The vault hunter bellowed, leaping up.

There was another internal silence, " _Yeah. Show them._ "

\--- --- --- --- ---  
"So uh...How did Roland come back. I mean, since you two are so close and all...I thought you would know." The Mechromancer asked Lilith who was now sprawled out on the couch.

"Because miracles do exist." A baritone voice caught the attention of the sleepy crowd. Roland stood in the door, looking rather exhausted himself.

"Roland when...what...I thought you were out with the guys!" Lilith exclaimed rolling over quickly.

The head Raider chucked and rubbed the back of his head,"One can only take so many midget brawls, skag fights, and whatever else pops into those three's heads." A soft snickering filled the air, "Anyways...It's about time you all knew, I'll explain it to the others when they aren't punting Varkid pods." 

Everyone scooted closer to their leader whom took a seat on a stool.

"When I got shot, everything still got sent into the New-U system, but with Angel dead, it had no where to go. It was a lot of nothingness and black. But then there was this pulse--I suppose it was the Vault key being used--and I heard Angel...She could have saved herself, but no, she saved me. Granted, it took a hell of a lot longer then I had liked. But I doubt another miracle like that will ever happen again." Roland explained, a deep respect in his tone.

"So why did you keep it a secret?" Tannis asked, eager to know more.

"Because for a while, it didn't feel real...It felt like a nightmare and a dream at the same time. I came to terms with it a while ago, but it only seemed best to tell when everything finally settled down."

There was a collective "ohhh" before the room fell silent again. Everyone awkwardly shuffled around. 

"So...yeah, have fun with your downtime ladies." The commander bid the others a farewell before heading out.

Another silence, that new bit of information was reassuring and unsettling at the same time. Most of the time on Pandora, if it could go wrong, it would and get one hundred times worse. It was rare that such a good thing would happen, even if it happened a while ago. One by one the women fell asleep, letting all that lost rest time finally catch up.

\--- --- --- --- ---

Krieg had set himself on a new mission, one that did not require him to wipe out half the beast population in the Badlands--though it was a nice little bonus--he began a search for anything that glowed, from power cores, to string lights, to glow sticks, and everything else that created some sort of light. Both halves of the Psycho had only one goal in mind. To end this isolation. To prove they were better than before. To show her that they weren't so hopeless anymore.

By the time he was finished, there was a large pile of glowing objects surrounding the ruined town.

" _Someone has to see this. Let's sleep. We've earned it._ " The calm inner voice declared.

"INTO THE CATACLYSM OF DARKNESS!"The boisterous outer voice agreed before walking into his hut, laying out on the cot with his power core tucked under his arm, providing that soothing warmth once again.


	7. Coincidences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters. Then POOF  
> to the actual "in progress" story.   
> I apologize for not really   
> well...being polite.  
> I just am eager to get this on here and onto the next.  
> But, to you all reading this.  
> YOU. ALL. Rock.  
> Like yeah~

It was eerily quiet for a morning in sanctuary, in the early hours where the sun was only an orange sliver over the horizon. Sir Hammerlock bustled about his apartment, spreading out a multitude of photos. This discovery was something that made his dedication to the research and discovery of all the species on Pandora worthwhile. His eyes jumped from image to image, lighting up in excitement, he had to go see this for himself.

After packing up a large ration of food, water, and ammunition; Hammerlock set out to Moxxi's where he left an ECHO on the bar counter and continued to Pierce Station where he traveled to his point of interest.

Hours passed and Sanctuary was back up to its glory of mild anarchy and chaos as civilians idled around the city making soft chatter on their daily errands.

The Crimson Raiders' all sleepily shuffled around the headquarters, none of them really "morning people" except Zer0, but then again no one really knew if he was human. The assassin climbed up to the roof of the building and began his daily routine of training in which he would stretch, take an acrobatic stealth run around the rise of the city, then finish with some sword practice to keep his reflexes sharp. Zer0 loosened the muscles in his legs then assumed a running stance. He activated his stealth and took off, hopping over pipes and vents, turning sharply with the help of a flag pole.

Something caught his eye, causing him to stop on a dime. It was Moxxi, heading towards the HQ with something in her hands. Curious, Zer0 hopped from the rooftop down to the bartender and deactivated his cloaking.

"Good Morning to you Moxxi/ Wha-"

"Oh my go-Oh...Zer0" The woman gasped, holding a hand to her chest, "Don't sneak up on me like that!" She exhaled then inhaled sharply, trying to regain her composure.

"Apologies." The assassin slightly droned in his typical robotic voice.

"Well...anyways." Moxxi huffed, still slightly out of breath," Can you take this to your base? I need to set up for business."

Zer0 nodded and received an ECHO from her. The two bade short farewells before departing on their separate routes. The Number tilted his head at the communicator in his hands as he approached the front door of the base. Upon entering he noticed Tannis slumped over on her desk with a small puddle of drool forming around her lips. A soft metallic chuckle escaped his mask as he marched up the stairs.

The majority of the other vault hunters had left to carry out the requests they had procrastinated on since the day off. The only ones left were Roland, Mordecai-who was in an alcohol-induced slumber, and Maya.

"I was told to give this to you/ it is from Moxxi/ it may be urgent or not." Zer0 commented, handing the ECHO to their leader.

"Thank you." Roland murmured and played the recording.

"Good day vault hunter!" Sir Hammerlock's cheerful voice spoke through the communicator,"I have made a wondrous discovery! I do not have the time to explain it all in detail, but rest assured it is one of a life time! I'll be out for a few days, I should be fine, but on the off chance something does happen, I'll contact yo-"

"VAULT HUNTER! Something has go-AHG! BACK!-Badlands! By Fyrest-BY GRACIOUS I SAID 'BACK!'-Fyrestone!"

"Shit..." Roland cursed under his breath, "Everyone, let's go. Prepare for the worst."

Maya tossed a wad of paper at the sleeping Hunter, startling him awake.

"Wha? Wh-"

"Emergency in the Badlands." The lead Raider said urgently, stocking up on ammunition.

" _What is that? Screaming? C'mon we better check it out_." The inner voice dictated, getting his motor half to flop off of the cot.

Krieg tucked away the ever-glowing power core in his satchel, picked up his Buzz Axe and Assault Rifle, and sprinted to the source of the distress.

Sir Hammerlock was in a near losing battle with a pack of skags and their matriarch. The Brit was doing everything he could to fend for himself until his friends arrived, but that may have proved a little too hopeful.

" _Ah well...at least it was for the dis-_ " Hammerlock's thoughts were interrupted by a blade whizzing past his ear and into the chest of a skag ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"HERE I COME FRUIT BOOTS!" Krieg bellowed, launching his weight onto the beast, killing it in a swift upwards motion.

The gentleman looked in shock at the Psycho, mildly concerned that he would turn around and end him too. Much to his surprise, the hulking man merely held out a hand to help him up.

"Up...UP! THERE'S NO BARBEQUE UNTIL I SAY THERE'S A BARBEQUE!"

" _YES! GOOD. WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE!_ " His inner voice cheered and probably leaped in the air, if he could.

Hammerlock hesitantly took his savior's hand, and pulled himself up. He brushed the dust off his clothes and resumed his battle to survive with a new ally.

More skags came dashing towards the two from off in the distance, their howls echoing through the dry desert air.

"Not good ol'pal. It's not looking so good." - - - - - -

The four vault hunters were transported into the inner walls of Fyrestone, prepared to deal with the JNK-Loaders Jack had put there to ward off anything from coming into the town. But there was nothing. No drone-like grumble. No energy bullets. Nothing. The four cautiously paced out of the city walls.

Several gunshots, and a loud snarl caught the Raiders off guard, sending them into a full out dash to the origin.

"Oh man...What has he done..." Mordecai grumbled, Talon-aka Bloodwing Jr-soared above her master,"Talon! Go help Hammerlock!" The bird screeched as if to understand and flew ahead of the group.

This unending battle was beginning to fall out of favor for Krieg and Sir Hammerlock as the skags kept coming.

A loud shriek caused everyone in the fight to freeze as Talon dove down and began attacking the beasts. Within a few moments Krieg's old companions showed up, ready to fight. The other vault hunters froze for a moment, now wary of their strategy.

" _See?! Now we can show them! We won't be alone in this anymore!_ " That calm voice cheered excitedly once again.

There was no time to focus on the Psycho though, the first priority was to aid the gentleman, and clear out this wave of beasts.

Roland deployed his turret and drew his shotgun, taking down a small pack of skags in only a few shots. Mordecai began sniping off the incoming beasts as his pet distracted some from the group. Zer0 drew his blade and effortlessly cut down his foes before stealthing off from his new attackers and skewing them through their backs. Maya phase locked one of the larger elder skags and used her elemental weapon to finish it off. The team took down the remaining skags quickly, leaving nothing but corpses and crimson.

"Good show! Very good show...but I do say...I swore there was a Matriarch Skag..." Hammerlock pondered aloud.

A horrifyingly deafening roar signaled the return of said skag, and boy did it deserve its title. The beast was as tall as a Goliath and nearly the size of a Bandit Technical. The vault hunters and the gentleman could only stare in awe as the monster strode slowly up to them, a beastly air of confidence surrounding it. Molten slag dripped from its jaws, its head hung lowly as it snarled, obviously furious at the six for murdering her pack.

"Ah...such a glorious beast. It shall make a fine addition to my almanac and personal collection."

The Matriarch let loose another roar, Krieg's eyes widened he had heard that roar somewhere else, somewhere he hated. In a panic, he thrashed his head side to side, only to see his comrades paralyzed in shock.

" _It's like that one they tested on..._ " The inner voice growled bitterly, Krieg tightened his grip on his Buzz Axe, " _The one they turned loose on everyone for their own sick entertainment_." The Psycho grew anxious, " _It's going to kill them..._ "

"NEVER IN THE LIGHT!" Krieg yelled, sprinting at the over-sized monstrosity, his weapon ready to spill blood.

"HUSH HUSH" He demanded, slicing the beast across its jaws, ending its paralyzing howl temporarily. The others took this as initiative to attack from a distance. Krieg however was going to stay as up close and personal with his enemy as possible.

The Matriarch swatted and snapped her jaws at the Psycho who was agile enough to take little damage. With every chance he got, Krieg swung his Saw-bladed axe deeper and deeper into the skag's flesh, spraying blood everywhere. Bullets pierced the monster, dwindling her energy and life lower and lower until she threw back her head and brought her jaws around the Psycho, swallowing him whole.

"KRIEG!" Maya cried, throwing up her left hand and trapping the vile beast in a large Phase Lock that began burning her victim with an intensity equal to that of lava. Her eyes and tattoos began to glow the same rich indigo they had days before. No one else dare try and stop her, knowing it could end badly for all parties. The Siren let out a furious yell before swinging her arm down, telepathically slamming the Matriarch Skag hard into the terrain.

Blood pooled around the slayed beast. Everyone dashed to its corpse in a panic.

"OH SHIT OH SHIT MAN." Mordecai exclaimed.

"Everyone try to get him out!" Roland ordered, taking out his knife and stabbing into the flesh. The other followed his example, cutting into the fallen skag's stomach. A soft whirring came from within as the edges of a blade sliced from the inside of the beast. The tough flesh split in two as Krieg stumbled out from the Matriarch's stomach. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and took a step back to allow the Psycho some space.

" _Good job...Yes..._ " The inner voice commented, just as exhausted as his counterpart.

Maya's hands flew up to her mouth before instinctively running over to her companion and embracing him tightly. She was so delighted to see Krieg safe and sound after losing him she didn't care if a few tears rolled from her eyes.

Both the inner and outer Krieg's were struck speechless as a new kind of warmth filled them. One that was hundreds of times more soothing than that of the power core.

" _I uh...alright...w-we can do this_ "

The Psycho returned the embrace as he wrapped his over-muscled arms around Maya's lean frame. The other vault hunters casually turned around, looking off into space feeling rather awkward.

What happened next shocked both the Siren and the Psycho.

"Thank you." Krieg muttered in a calm tone, once again both sides of the Psycho seemed to flow in sync and convey what was needed.

Maya just nodded, not wanting to let go.

"Nap time." The Psycho grumbled, before his knees gave out, taking the Siren with him. Maya stayed absolutely still, now awkwardly kneeling with her companion. A warm sensation ran down her back. Not in the emotional, metaphorical sense, but literally. The Siren noticed blood dripping from her back and from under Krieg's mask.

"GUYS. SANCTUARY. NOW." She gasped. The four other men turned around and ran to their friend's side, taking the Psycho with them as they hurried back to the Fast-Travel station.


	8. Second Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Part 8 of the 9-chapter spam.  
> Then onto the "official"   
> Not the "I just threw ideas that seemed kinda coherent"   
> story.  
> Sorry for my bluntness.

"Alright...We need to get a few things cleared up." Roland commented calmly, his eyes scanning around the room where the other vault hunters were gathered along with Sir Hammerlock, "One, Hammerlock, what the hell was so important that you needed to endanger yourself?"

"Grand question! You see, a while back I had miss Gaige here," Gaige struck a proud pose and smiled, "reprogram some of those Hyperion Surveyors to take photos of Pandora since I am only one man and cannot be everywhere at once. Well early this morning I received an update and saw two things that fascinated me, one, Fyrestone was glowing like some bio-luminescent creature, and two, there was a mass murder of skags out in the vast expanse of the Badlands. And often times, when such an event occurs, the Matriarch Skag will venture outside her den for a few days trying to take over a new pack. It's a very rare event, so it was obvious I record it." The gentleman smiled triumphantly.

The others just sighed, facepalmed, or remained silent.

"On to the next question...one that seems to keep coming back..." The Soldier chucked bitterly, "Krieg." There were a lot of questions surrounding the Psycho. Like why he didn't use the Fast-Travel in Fyrestone to get back to Sanctuary, why he helped out everyone, and perhaps most importantly, what the hell was going on behind that mask.

Everyone looked at one another awkwardly, knowing all the questions,but  unsure of what exactly to say.

"Maya..." Roland turned his attention to the Siren who looked up at him,"since you seem to know our companion the best," Maya's eyes lit up when she heard him refer to the Psycho as a 'companion' rather than some exile,"why do you think he didn't return to Sanctuary even though he was perfectly capable?"

"Well...Would you return to a place where everyone will just chase you out again?" 

Roland shook his head 'no'. "I guess not. Okay, so why did he help us then?"

The Siren pursed her lips and shifted her weight, tapping her fingers on her hip.

"I think he genuinely wants to work with us all. I mean, yeah, when we first found him he was a little uncooperative and hard to work with, but when push came to shove he's been there and able to do what we need him to. Maybe he just wants to do good."

"Or maybe he just knows that wherever we go, there's bound to be bloodshed." Axton added, Maya pointed to her teammate, "That too." She commented.

"So what should we do everyone?" The leader of the Raiders asked.

"Well, he saved my life." Hammerlock stated.

"I think he should stay, he has real potential." Lilith added, glancing at the other Siren with a smile.

"Talon doesn't mind him, so why not?" The Hunter chuckled. The other vault hunters all voted that the Psycho stay as well. Roland rested his hands on the table in front of him.

"Well, looks like he's staying, but," Roland's voice grew grave,"If another accident like before occurs...he'll have to leave and won't get a second chance."

The room became silent. Everyone nodded in agreement, even Maya gave a slight nod, knowing that she couldn't fight that proposition.

"Dismissed." The leader said, standing straight up and returning to his previous work. The other vault hunters dispersed. Maya dashed down and out of the headquarters, straight to Zed's Clinic. 

A sign hung on the door, "Delicate procedure, do not disturb." The Siren's shoulders slumped over in disappointment. That sign had been up there since they first brought in Krieg to the "doctor", and that was hours ago. Maya rested her forehead against the metal door and sighed loudly, praying that her companion was alright.

"I knew I'd find you here." Lilith chuckled, placing a hand on her friend's back, "I think you need a drink."

Maya turned to her friend and hung her head, "Yeah. Maybe I do."

The two Sirens strolled over to Moxxi's and sat up at the bar. 

"Heya girls. What can I get ya today?" Moxxi asked with a smile and wink.

"Just something light." The Firehawk answered while Maya stared off in the distance.

"Sure thing." The hostess grabbed a bottle and two glasses, placing them in front of the Sirens, "Sooo, how's your Psycho?" She asked, snapping the blue-haired female from her thoughts.

"Still in surgery I guess..." She sighed.

"Its a hard thing, being in love~" Moxxi slightly smiled. Maya nearly fell off her stool.

"E-excuse me?"

"Ah you're not fooling anyone darling. You're head over heels for him." 

Lilith laughed softly, lightly shoving her friend on the arm.

Maya quickly poured herself a glass of alcohol and downed in one gulp, the liquid fire burning her throat. She was never much of a drinker, if she ever drank at all. This was stronger than anything she had ever tried.

"I...thought you said...light..." The Siren groaned, holding her head, already feeling affected from the liquor.

"This is the lightest thing I have!" Moxxi replied.

"Ugh...r-right...anyways." Maya started, trying to push past the throbbing ache in her skull, "I don't love him...he's just...exciting. Y'never know what he's gonna do next. It's always a surprise with him. Sure...going after the Vault, meeting everyone, all that was an amazing and exciting adventure too. But you learn them all pretty fast...he's...an adventure in his own. Like...y-y'know?" She felt her thoughts and words mesh together, not sure what was staying in her mind and what was coming out of her mouth, "He's like. The exciting adventure I've always wanted to have!"

"Soooo, you mean you love him." Both Lilith and Moxxi snickered as Maya practically confessed everything she felt.

\--- --- --- --- ---

"Well son...after five hours. I think we're done!" Dr.Zed declared triumphantly to his assistant and the unconscious Psycho, "Who'da thought skags were filled with toxins?"

"Not me!" The doctor's assistant piped up, placing all the equipment back in their respective drawers.

"Alright, well you go tell Roland that his friend is all patched up, and that I even sterilized my equipment for this." Zed shooed his assistant off.

"Right away!" The spunky helper saluted and jogged out the door.

"Man you are one lucky bastard." The middle-aged medic chuckled and patted his patient on the shoulder.

\--- --- --- --- ---

"Auuuugh...." Maya groaned, stumbling out of the bar, "Oh yeah, just one drink. Pfft. What harm can it do?"

A familiar figure caught her peripheral vision. She recognized the figure as Dr.Zed's assistant. 

" _They must be done!_ " She thought, chasing down the young thing.

"Hey! Hey!" The assistant stopped and turned to the Siren.

"Yessss Ma'am?"

"Are you done w--"

"With the Psycho? Yes Ma'am! He's back at the clin-"

Maya turned on her heel and dashed to Zed's. The assistant returned to the mission of informing Roland.

Krieg lay peacefully on the stretcher, his chest rising and falling slowly and calmly. The Siren paced into the one room clinic, seeing her companion fast asleep. She paced faster to his side and noticed something was a little off. His mask was missing, revealing his face. Maya blinked a few times, mentally reminding herself that even he had a face under his mask. 

But what she saw definitely shocked her. She was expecting him to have some kind of glaring deformity like a large burn that took up the majority of his face, or perhaps several deep scars that had him blind in one eye, but no, the only kind of "deformity"--if you could even call it that--Krieg had was a scar that ran from his forehead down his eye and to his cheek, and a small scar on his upper lip. Maya wouldn't admit it, but Krieg wasn't that bad looking.

"Ah, here to see your friend?" Zed asked, wiping off his hands on his apron, "He should be fine. His organs and all are still in tact, he just had a lot of poison in him. How he managed that, I haven't the slightest, but he's fine. Just sleepin'."

"Good..." Maya exhaled, lifting her head when she heard the other Raiders walk in.

"Hah, of course you'd be the first to be here." Axton snickered. 

"Ah hush up Axton." The Siren scoffed, flicking her wrist.


	9. End Transmission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the title suggests. This is the last in this story.  
> BUT. Probably tomorrow I will update the first two chapters of   
> "Ghosts and Raiders" for you all.  
> Thank you for tolerating my spam  
> You all rock. Yes.  
> -Ryzi

The clinic cleared out a few minutes later, leaving only Maya and Krieg left in silence. The Siren's eyes trailed over the terrain of the Psycho's body, taking in every scar, burn, and ridge in his skin as if she would forget what he looked like tomorrow. Her thoughts were still swimming from the liquor she had consumed earlier and she began to feel a little dizzy.

" _Ugh...my...everything...I heard talking. HEY! Get up!_ " The inner Krieg ordered, getting his motor half to awaken.

"HEAD. ACHE." He groaned loudly, sitting up quickly causing the room to spin. Krieg's head nodded slightly as he tried to regain his bearings, he exhaled to notice something was off. In a quick motion, the Psycho slapped his hand to his face, feeling his beloved mask missing. Krieg frantically scanned the room, only making himself dizzier.

"Hey, looking for this?" Maya asked with a chuckle, holding her friend's mask up to her face. Krieg let out a gruff chuckle from both sides and patted the Siren's shoulder.

Maya handed the Psycho his mask back and helped him re-attach all the clips. The slightly injured man nodded in approval and patted the Siren on the shoulder a bit too roughly making her wince. He quickly drew back his hand and looked slightly worried, but the Siren just waved a hand as if to say it was alright. There was another awkward moment of silence.

" _Heh. Well damn._ " The sane side chuckled as the conscious side hung his head in what looked like defeat. Maya tiled her head down to get a better look, worried that something else could be wrong with her Psycho. On an instinct, the Siren placed her hand on Krieg's shoulder and gave a soft squeeze," _Looks like someone is here for us. Sure, she could kill us at any moment-with just a wink of the eye too-but I think she's here for us. I think...we got through to her._ "

"Blue~" The conscious Krieg seemed to grumble in some menacingly loving tone, sitting upright once more. Maya leaned back, slightly shocked.

" _Tell her 'thank you'. We've done it before._ "

"Stay by the beast. Music for the savage." The Psycho grumbled, clenching his hands into fists. The Siren's eyes darted around slightly, pursing her lips before cracking a slight grin.

" _Close enough_."

"You're welcome." She exhaled, standing up, "Now let's go show them that you're up and ready for more." Her voice was calm and collected, she held out a hand to her friend.

Krieg cautiously grasped his worn hand around hers, allowing Maya to lead him back to the Crimson Raider's headquarters.

-End Transmission-

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it?  
> Even if it's a "finished" work  
> comment! Tell me what you thought!  
> You all rock.


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